EP Review: The Lilac Time – Prussian Blue

In my review of its parent album, No Sad Songs, I referred to ‘Prussian Blue’as a “blissful summer lullaby”. A single release in July is therefore not wholly wrong. However, whether it is the kind of song to grab the attention of distracted radio listeners is another matter. The bouncier ‘Babylon Revisited’ would arguably have been a better choice.

‘Prussian Blue’ is backed by faithful live versions of three Lilac Time classics: ‘The Road To Happiness’, ‘A Day In The Night’ and ‘The Lost Girl In The Midnight Sun’. Presumably recorded in 2007, when the band had its most recent shows, they show how well Stephen Duffy’s beautifully aching voice has (or had) held up. Pick of the three is the mesmeric ‘…Happiness’, which sucks you in and carries you away with it.